


Life Lessons & Musical Instruments

by randomemoticons



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Not Beta Read, unfortunately
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomemoticons/pseuds/randomemoticons
Summary: Angela had accepted her death the second she felt her soul slip from her body. She may have even been a little relieved. But then she came back as a ghost and that was a little bit more than she could handle in one day. Or twenty-five years as it turns out.orHow the guys are still idiots even with a chaperone.
Relationships: Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Piano

  
As the final notes of the song slowly fade from the air Angela walks onto the stage from the wings and quickly finds arms around her waist. She looks up and can't help but copy the huge smile on Reggie's face. He's practically shaking from the excitement. It was a huge night for them and she couldn't be happier. He lets her go to put his bass away and she goes over to the other guys. As she quickly hugs Alex, Luke gives her an expectant look. 

"So what did you think?"

"I mean aside from the lead guitarist I think it sounded incredible," she jibes and he playfully shoulders her in return. Having rejoined the group, Reggie holds out a hand to her and pulls her towards him when she grabs it. He turns towards the drummer.

"Alex you were smokin'."

"Oh no. I was just warming up. You guys were the ones on fire," Alex says sheepishly and she raises an eyebrow in return. 

"Could you just own your awesomeness for once?" Her boyfriend retaliates and they all turn to give the blonde an expectant look.

"All right, I was killing it."

She chuckles and lightly hits Alex on the shoulder as Luke changes the subject. 

"OK, well, I'm thinking we fuel up before the show. I'm thinking street dogs."

"Ooh!"

"Yes."

"Gross but sure."

Instead of responding Bobby gets off the stage and starts to make his way to the back of the venue. She spots a beautiful girl cleaning glasses and knew exactly where he's heading. The others hadn't caught on yet and started to follow after their stray bandmate. 

"Hey, Bobby, where you going?" Luke calls after him.

"I'm good," he responds before addressing the girl, "Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal." 

Angela can't help but roll her eyes. Typical. 

The curly-haired girl compliments the boys, "You guys are really good."

Luke thanks her and she continues, "I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it."

The boys seem pleased with someone enjoying their music but Angela was more interested in the fact this girl was a musician. She feels an unwelcome urge to talk to her about it and she quickly pushes it away. 

_Not now._

She comes fully back to the conversation as the guys and the girl, Rose, are introducing themselves. 

Reggie ruffles through his stuff and pulls out a CD. "Here's our demo," he says giving it to her before pulling out a shirt and a cheesy smile. "And a T-shirt. Size beautiful."

Angela quickly bites down on her lip to keep from laughing. Reggie's flirting abilities were one of the first things she had noticed about him but not because they were especially good. It was nice to know some things never change.

"Thanks. I'll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one." Rose responds, throwing the shirt over her shoulder. 

"Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet they just kinda fall apart in your hands." Alex comments and Angela bites down harder as she struggles not to laugh at the increasingly ridiculous conversation. 

Bobby gives the other guys a look, "Don't you guys have to go get hot dogs?"

Luke leans over to Rose and tells her, "Yeah, he had a hamburger for lunch."

Angela couldn't keep her laughter in anymore when she sees Bobby's reaction. He gives her a betrayed look and she throws him an apologetic smile as she passes him to catch up with the other three. 

As Luke and Alex go to put on their jackets Reggie turns to her. "Thank you for being here."

She would have laughed it off if not for the sincerity in his voice. Thoughts of the porch lights illuminating her attempt to sneak back in the night prior and the disappointed looks her father sent her in the morning come to mind before she shuts them away. 

Looking up at him she takes his hands and replies, "No place I'd rather be."

The moment lasts a few seconds before Luke suddenly throws himself over Reggie and his attention is forced away from her. She rolls her eyes and smiles when she feels an arm over her shoulder, looking up to see Alex with a matching fond expression. The four of them head through the back door into the dark alleyway. 

"That's what I'm talking about!" The guitarist cheers.

"The smell of Sunset Boulevard?" Alex asks sarcastically. 

"No. It's what that girl said in there tonight. About our music, all right? It's like an energy. It connects us with people. They can feel us when we play. I want that connection with everybody."

Statements like that were what made her admire Luke. His love was pure. So much so that even as Sunset Curve had become more well known his concern about his image had never overshadowed the music. She longed for the ability to feel the same way. 

The cool air nips at her nose as they compile their hotdogs. She had grown accustomed to the extremely low standards the guys had when it had to what they ate but it is still easy to question why she always went along with it. 

Alex reflects her thoughts as he says, "I can't wait till we eat someplace where the condiments aren't served out of the back of an Oldsmobile."

They make their way over to a couch and she sits on the edge leaning against Reggie. 

"This is awesome you guys. We're playing the Orpheum! I can't even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge. We're gonna be legends!" Luke says before holding up his hotdog. "Eat up boys. 'Cause after tonight, everything changes."

She takes a bite and instantly regrets it. She looks at the guys and Alex's expression says that it isn't only her. 

"That's a new flavor," he comments but Reggie waves him off.

"Chill, man. Street dogs haven't killed us yet."

***************

  
_Twenty-five years._

The words keep ringing in her head. Angela had accepted her death the second she felt her soul slip from her body. She may have even been a little relieved. But then she came back as a ghost and that was a little bit more than she could handle in one day. Or twenty-five years as it turns out. 

She looks around the studio and catalogs all the changes when her eyes fall on the piano. Images of the scratched up old piano that had sat in her living room conjure in her mind. Memories of correcting her little sister's finger placement instantly invade her mind. Amy would have to be nearly forty years old now. Angela had been making fun of her crush on a guy in her class just a week ago and now her sister was old enough to have kids of her own. Did she have nieces or nephews she never got to meet all because of a stupid hotdog? She briefly thinks of her parents before she quickly closed that door. 

_Not now._

She purposely turns her thoughts to Julie, the teenage girl who could somehow see them. It made no sense how that was possible but logic had left the building when it turned out ghosts were real. She understood why Julie was freaked out and she doubted the guys were making it any better by going into the house. Unfortunately, Angela had never been able to stop them from being stupid. 

As if summoned by her thoughts the three boys appeared in the room. 

Angela turned to them, "That was fast."

"Yeahhhh...our presence wasn't exactly welcome," Alex answers sheepishly.

"Shocker," she responds sarcastically before pointing them to the loft, "I think your guys' stuff may still be up there."

Their eyes widen and they rush to go look. Sure enough, they each find their instruments. Reggie and Luke plug into the amps as Alex puts together his drum kit. After years of practice, they had setting-up down to a science. As they work she carefully makes her way around the piano until she spots some sheet music laying on top. Curious, she looks over the composition, left-hand unconsciously playing invisible keys. 

"Luke!" She calls, gesturing for him to come over by her. She points to the papers and he looks them over, eyes going wide.

"This is really good. Who do you think wrote it?"

She shrugs in response. They hear Alex start tapping on his snare and with a final glance at the sheet music, Luke makes his way back to the guys and picks up his guitar. As the sound of the guys jamming fills the studio Angela can't help but look back down. She had been studying piano compositions for too long to ignore what was in front of her. 

Her thoughts are cut off when she hears Julie yelling over the music telling them to stop. 

"The whole neighborhood could hear you. I thought I told you to leave!"

_What?_

"Wait. People can hear us play?" Luke asks.

"Yes! And do so did my dad and my brother!" Julie hisses in response. 

_How?_

"W-W-Wait. Wait. So, only you can see us, but everyone can hear us? I mean what kind of ghosts are we?" Alex asks.

"Who cares, man? People can hear us play!" Luke says excitedly. 

"We might be dead but our music isn't," Reggie adds.

Suddenly an older man who Angela assumes is Julie's father enters the studio. 

"Hey. Just making sure you're ok." He says to Julie, completely unaware of the others privy to their conversation. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had to turn off the CD player." Julie responds and he nods before taking a look around. His eyes fall on the guy's instruments.

"Wait. Is this the junk that was in the loft?'

The guys shout in outrage over the insult against their instruments and Alex gets particularly upset as Julie's dad pokes at his drum kit. Julie quickly waves Alex off before her dad stops examining the drums.

"I liked that song you had on." The older man tells Julie. 

"Sweet! We're Sunset Curve." Luke cheers.

"Tell your friends," Reggie adds. 

"It's just an old CD I found. " Julie said ignoring the boys. 

"Well, still, it's nice that you're listening to music again. Out here you play whatever you want, whenever you want." 

"Oh! That's nice." Reggie comments and Julie turns to glare at him. 

"Stay out of this."

"I-I'm sorry, honey. I didn't..." The older man placates clearly thinking his daughter was talking to him. 

"Oh no, no, no, no. Not you. I mean...Uh...You know, give me a minute." Julie stumbles trying to explain herself. Angela winces in sympathy. They were really making things difficult for this girl. 

Julie's dad quietly reassures his daughter and the expression on his face brings back bittersweet memories to Angela. 

Julie thanks him before shooing him out and turning to glare at the ghosts in the room.

"He likes our song," Reggie says happily. 

"Oh yeah. He doesn't count. He's a dad." Alex counters and the guys seem to agree on that point. Meanwhile, Julie has turned her glare up to ten.

_Oh boy._

"Why can't you guys just be normal ghosts? Hang out at an old mansion. I hear Pasadena's nice." The curly-haired girl snaps at them before storming off. 

"I think she's warming up to us." Alex comments.

Angela looks over at Luke and could tell he was about to act. She shakes her head at him before poofing outside right in front of Julie. 

"Stop that!"

Angela puts her hands up and takes a step back. "Sorry."

"What do you want?"

"I'm really sorry that we invaded your home and have made things weird with you and your family. It's just that the studio was like another home for those guys and music was the one thing they lived for, we all did really. I-I think they got caught up with the excitement of being able to perform again. We meant no harm."

"Yeah, it's just I've had a really really awful day."

"I get that. I really do and I'm sorry we contributed to that. We'll get out, it's your studio now or your mom's studio I guess."

She regrets the words the second she says them as she sees Julie's expression turn sad. 

"Was. It was her's. She passed away."

Angela squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath. She is usually able to avoid stepping on land mines like this but she hadn't been on top of her game with everything that had happened.

"I am so sorry." 

"Yeah, we didn't know," comes Alex's voice and the two girls turn to see the guys looking at Julie with matching expressions of guilt.

Julie's eyes soften and her shoulders relax as she looks at the three of them. 

"It's alright," she says and briefly pauses. "You guys haven't seen her anywhere, have you? From wherever you're from."

Angela struggles to come up with an answer but she's saved by Alex, "No, I mean, you're kind of the first person we've seen."

"Yeah but she's not dead, so it doesn't really answer her question." Reggie counters and Angela looks to the sky. Sometimes she had to wonder about him.

"Yeah. I think she knows what we mean," Alex addresses Reggie before turning back to Julie. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. Sorry I got mad. You guys are kinda good," Julie says and softly smiles. Angela can feel most of the tension leave her body at the sight. 

"Kinda? You know that's like twenty-five years of rust just getting dusted off." Luke responds and they lightly chuckle.

"Yeah. Do you play piano too?" Reggie asks Julie.

She looks slightly panicked before she responds, "No, I don't play. That was my mom's stuff in there."

Angela's mind quickly turns to the sheet music she had been admiring a few moments ago. 

Luke seems to catch on to the implication at the same time and excitedly says, "No way. She's an amazing songwriter."

"She was," Julie says softly before catching onto what he just said. "Wait. How would you know?"

"There's a song on the piano. If it's hers...your mom was really talented," Luke explains.

Julie looks contemplative for a moment before turning to head back to the house. Before Angela can start thinking up a plan for where they could go Julie turns back to them. 

"I guess if you need a place to stay, you can stay in there," she says gesturing to the studio. "There's a bathroom in the back and a couch that turns into a bed if you still use any of that stuff."

Angela sighs in relief and beams at the other girl. 

"Dibs on the shower," Reggie exclaims before realizing the questioning looks in his direction. "I just really like showers and sometimes the occasional bath."

_Where did she find this boy?_

"This is just too weird," Julie says quizzically and heads back to the house. 

As she leaves the guys all turn to each other with excited expressions and Angela chuckles. 

"Well boys, looks like we've got a place to stay."


	2. Flute

It turned out there were some upsides to the whole ghost thing. The four of them had spent the night going from club to club and it was nice to not have to worry about lines or fees. Or having to constantly think about what strangers thought of her.

Plus the whole teleporting thing was convenient. 

Speaking of, as they poof into the studio they are met with a beautiful voice singing voice. 

Julie's beautiful singing voice. 

And she was playing the piano. 

_Wait, that's the song from last night._

Angela is so completely caught off guard that she barely notices Alex reaching for Julie. She sees Luke hold out a hand to stop him and gestures for all of them to leave.

They land in front of the studio and Alex looks to Luke. "Dude why'd you stop me? Julie needs a hug."

Luke looks incredulously at Alex and says, "Bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment that you think it is. Trust me. What Julie needs right now is just a bit of privacy."

Angela is a little unsure about that reasoning. 

So apparently was Alex. "You know what? I think you poofed us out because you can't handle when other people cry." 

A thought comes to mind and she starts laughing. Turning to Luke she teases, "I think he may have a point. Remember the first time we met?"

The guitarist pales and quickly says, "We're not talking about that." 

She laughs even harder at his panic and he shoots her a look. He continues, "I think the first thing we should do, once we get the courage to go in there, is to ask Julie why she lied about playing the piano."

"That's the first thing you want to talk to her about? Really?" Angela asks.

"What?"

"Maybe we could, oh I don't know, ask how she's doing? Considering she's in there crying!"

"And maybe, you know, tell her how amazing she is," Alex adds. 

"She's legit. I got ghost bumps," Reggie says. 

Their conversation is cut off as a sniffling teenage girl crosses in front of them to enter the studio.

"Oh my god. Was she crying too?" Alex asks. 

"Yes! And the only thing scarier than one girl crying is two girls crying. We definitely can't go in there," Luke cries. 

"But we can listen," Reggie suggests before rushing to the door. The other two boys follow and they look through the windows into the studio. 

"What the hell? Do you guys have no sense of privacy?" Angela calls and they promptly shush her before continuing to spy on Julie and her friend. 

She puts her head in her hands and groans in defeat. The last day, or twenty-five years, suddenly catch up to her. Exhausted, she lays down on the hard ground and looks up at the sky until she hears feet people talking, and the studio doors opening. She looks to the side to see Julie and the unknown girl walk out as the boys quickly try to look natural. Or whatever it was they thought they were doing. 

She lays back down and tries to relax until she feels a shoe kicking her foot. She looks up to Luke grinning cheekily at her and she rests her forearm over her eyes. Why could they not just leave her in peace?

"There is no way that is comfortable."

"More comfortable than being around you."

"Ouch."

She moves her arm away and glares at Luke only to feel herself being lifted to her feet. She turns around, arms crossed, and looks at the other two. Alex puts an arm around her shoulder and pushes her along to the studio.

"I wonder why Julie didn't tell us she could shred on the piano." Reggie ponders. 

"And sing. That girl can sing." Luke adds excitedly. 

"It probably had something to do with her mom. You know? Must've been hard," Alex says as he climbs up the ladder to the loft. "Anyway, I feel for her."

"Yeah but now she's got music back in her life, just like us."

"Yeah, I'm not sure you can call what we have a life."

"And, you know, sometimes music doesn't solve all your problems."

"Can you prove that?"

Their bickering is interrupted by Alex finding some of the guys' clothes in the loft. He throws down some bags and the guys start digging through their stuff. Reggie goes to hand her a spare shirt she had put in his bag ages ago. Surprised, she steps back as Julie's dad steps through him.

"Oh, that was weird. But, somehow, I can tell this man has a kind heart." Reggie says.

"So, how've ya been?" The older man says.

Reggie looks around before answering, "Honestly, not that good. See we ate these hot dogs, and-"

"Julie sang for the first time this morning. She hadn't done that in almost a year. You would've loved it," The older man continues and Angela comes to a sudden realization. 

"No, no, no I am not sitting through this," Angela says as she grabs Reggie and poofs outside the studio.

Alex and Luke shortly follow and Luke looks at her incredulously. 

"What was that?"

"That was me not wanting to listen to Julie's dad talk to his dead wife. I know you guys have some weird issues around privacy but I refuse to intrude on that."

"Yeah, that felt kinda...wrong."

"I feel like we stumbled into a situation none of us are equipped for. I mean family drama is one thing but death isn't really something any of us have had experience with."

"Until us," Alex says and the four of them fall silent, reminded of the reality of their situation. 

"Do you think we go see my family and see how they're doing?" Reggie asks and she smiles at him trying to be reassuring. 

"Yeah, we can do that."

***********

When she first lands on the beach she thinks she somehow at the wrong place. As she looks around she is reminded that they're in the future with every familiar landmark having been replaced or removed.

"A bike shack right where my house used to be." 

She turns to see Reggie looking upset and she impulsively grabs his hand. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry man," Luke says trying to comfort his friend. 

"They made the Meyerson' house into a noodle shop. Why couldn't they have made mine like a pizzeria or something?"

"They tore down the whole neighborhood," Alex says and Angela sighs. Everywhere they turned there was something to remind them of how much had changed. 

"I guess my folks are gone," Reggie says defeated and she squeezes his hand. 

"Hey," Angela says lowly, catching his eye. "We'll find them."

Reggie's parents hadn't been the best at the whole parenting gig and they certainly were terrible at the whole being married thing. She had only met them a handful of times but she remembers all the times he would show up at the shop while she was working wanting to get away from the house. Still, it was hard to let go of family, especially as suddenly as they had. 

"Everyone's gone. Twenty-five years gone. Friends, family, Bobby, everyone," Alex says.

As Reggie wonders aloud what had happened to Bobby, guilt pools in the pit of Angela's stomach. Bobby had been one of her best friends. It was hard not to sometimes feel like a bit of an outsider around the other three and it drew Angela and Bobby together. They would spend hours going over chord structures and finger placement. Talking about school and parental expectations. He was the only one who truly understood some of the darkest parts of her soul. And she had left him behind. 

Luke was clearly not experiencing the same distress as he says, "He probably just got old like everybody else and moved on."

Alex looks incredulously at the guitarist. "Dude, how are you so casual about all of this? I mean don't you wanna figure out what happened?"

"Let's be real for a second. It's not like we were that close with our families. My folks always regretted buying me that guitar. Reggie, your parents were literally a fight away from a divorce. Alex your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay." He finally turns to her and all the energy he had been building up suddenly leaves his body.

They both knew that while Angela had a pretty severe case of middle child syndrome and her parents had not always approved of her decisions, ultimately she had a good relationship with her family. 

And she had left them too.

_Not now._

Determined not to dwell on her own situation Angela deflects. "It's fine. This all sucks but at least you guys have each other."

"We _all_ have each other," Luke restates deliberately looking at her before turning the other two. "We're the only family we're ever gonna need. And you know what else we have?"

"I'm gonna guess death breath." Reggie offers.

Luke laughs, "Our music, you dork. We have our music, you guys. People, actual people, can hear us play! They can't see us, fine, but they can feel us. I just wish I had my guitar."

And then Luke's acoustic guitar appears in his hands. Angela jolts back and her eyes widen. 

"Whoa! That was rad. How'd you do that?" Reggie exclaims. 

Luke stutters as he tries to explain. "I don't know. I-I mean I wished for it and then it came in my hands-"

"I-I-I wish I had a puppy. A hamster? Pizza?" When nothing happens Reggie flops onto the ground. Giggling, she sits next to him. 

"Hey, I think I know something that'll cheer you up," Luke says before he starts to strum his guitar. 

Angela stands up and she and Alex both hold out a hand to Reggie. 

"Come on Reginald," Alex mocks. The bassist looks up at them for a second before grabbing their hands and letting them pull him up. 

She watches as the three of them sing and dance around to the impromptu song and laughs.

_At least they have each other._

***********

The four of them had come back to the studio in high spirits and determined to make their instruments appear on command. They had stood around as Luke tried to explain how he summoned his guitar in the first place. Reggie managed, somewhat clumsily, to make his bass appear and Alex was sitting behind his drum kit not too long after. They were delighted with their newfound ability. 

But for some reason, Angela could not make anything appear. The guys had sat with her and tried to theorize what could be stopping her. None of their ideas had helped and eventually they had grown restless and started getting rowdy. She had shooed them away to do who knows what and went back to figuring it out. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, Angela feels something in her hands and she jumps up in joy. Then she recognizes the cool metal her good mood immediately turns sour. A knot develops in her throat and she is met by an avalanche of unwelcome thoughts and feelings. 

The flute.

She spent hours trying to get an instrument to appear in her hands and she gets her flute.

_Am I really doing that bad?_

Her spiraling is suddenly interrupted by the sound of Reggie's voice.

"Hey, you did it!"

She looks up at the guys and watches them freeze as they realize she is holding her flute.

"Uh, didn't you stop playing-"

"Two years ago? Yeah."

They all remember the week she had quit playing and the proceeding backlash. 

The three of them hadn't been around for the years prior. The years where she had slowly widdled herself down with her own expectations to the point where she couldn't recognize who her thoughts were coming from. 

It had started with the piano. With the compliments from her instructors and the proud gleam in her parent's eyes every time she completed more advanced compositions. The rush she got from being noticed pushed her to continually get better. This was an impossible ambition, improvement is never linear, but that didn't stop her. 

It had gotten particularly bad when she started playing the flute. It had been a whole new way of connecting with others through music. Her bandmates appreciated her not with how she stood out but in how she fit in. And so she learned how to be whatever people wanted her to be. 

Music was her greatest love. It was also the instrument she used to slowly destroy herself. 

Reggie had come into her life just before she had met her breaking point. What started as a ridiculous pickup line competition had turned into soft smiles and stammering confessions. Nothing had ever felt easier than talking with him and she had kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waited for the thoughts to invade her mind telling her she wasn't enough. But it never came.

But even he couldn't delay the inevitable. 

All it took was one comment from her band director for years of buried feelings to come boiling the surface. It had been the worst day of her life. Or at least it had been before the day she died. 

The next day she had quit band and shoved the flute in the back of her closet and the back of her mind never to be seen again. Or so she had thought. Now she looks at the tarnished silver and sighs. She should have known that nothing could stay hidden away forever. 

Her thoughts are interrupted as she feels someone sit next to her. 

"At least it's not a piccolo." 

She laughs, slightly unhinged, but he smiles at her nonetheless. 

"You know what I miss?" Reggie asks as she calms down and she looks at him expectantly. "Our jam sessions at the shop."

"We're calling those jam sessions now? I seem to remember it being me actually playing and you messing around with whatever you saw first."

"Hey, you were the talent. I was just the eye candy," he jokes and they both grin softly at each other. 

"My boss hated whenever we did that," she says.

He waves her off. "He just didn't understand true talent."

Her laughter dies down and she looks at him. He somehow always knew what she needed to hear in moments like this. 

_At least I still have him._

She feels the metal beneath her fingertips turn to sleek wood. She looks down to see her violin and bow in her hands. Her eyes feel moist as she lovingly runs her hand down the neck.

"Hey! Look at that!" Alex cries. 

"Aw, c'mon it couldn't have been the guitar?" Luke complains and she giggles. 

She looks back at Reggie and he gestures down to her violin.

"Well?"

She slowly lifts the instrument and fits it under her chin. Lifting her bow in the other hand she closes her eyes and lets a sense of contentment wash over her.


	3. Piccolo

Angela wants to have a word without whoever decided to equate death with being at peace because, since dying, she has experienced way too much excitement. 

It wasn't enough that people can hear the guys play. No, they have to also be able to see them play. But only when they are performing with Julie. Because that makes sense.

The guys immediately decided to take the revelation as their second chance. Well, technically, Alex freaked out first but that was to be expected. The three of them managed to convince Julie to join their band and Flynn, Julie's cute friend, had ensured that they were actually joining Julie's band. And thus Julie and the guys' unnamed band was born. 

Angela needs a break.

Instead, she's watching Luke, Reggie, and Julie practice for their first-ever performance. Even without Alex, they sound great with Julie as an amazing addition to the group. The three of them end the song they are on and Luke turns to Angela expectantly. 

"So what do you think?"

"Sounds good.”

“Good? That’s all you’re giving us? Come on that was awesome!”

Reggie gives Luke a high five, their enthusiasm bouncing off each other. She chuckles and rolls her eyes. Why he ever asks her opinion she would never know. She decides to pick on Luke a little more.

"I think you're lucky Julie is here to pick up your slack. I mean there were some pretty shakey chords in there," Angela says looking the guitarist up and down. 

Luke presses a hand against his chest, feigning offense. "Hey, have respect for your teacher."

"You're right. I'll be sure to thank Bobby. Or better yet my old violin instructor. He definitely taught me more about playing the guitar than you ever did."

Luke makes a face at her while Julie turns to Angela in surprise.

"You play the violin?”

"And two hundred other instruments,” Luke jokes.

“Haha,” Angela says sarcastically before turning to Julie. "I like picking up new instruments here and there but I only really play five."

"Only?" Julie says, raising a brow. 

Angela chuckles, "Jack of all trades master of none."

"Better than a master of one," Julie counters before a thought comes to her and confusion overcomes her expression. "Wait, so why aren't you in the band?”

Luke turns to her with a look of panic on his face as he realizes Angela was never offered a place in Sunset Curve. Maybe she should feel offended but she had realized early on that Luke, as well as Reggie and Alex, had a hard time disconnecting the band from other parts of their lives. Since she was around them so much it just didn't connect that she wasn't a part of the band. 

If Angela were being honest she would admit that she wasn't sure that she could ever perform again. It had only taken a few weeks after dropping the flute that, the feeling of detachment continuing, she had stopped doing piano performances. She never found a way to explain it to her parents and Reggie hadn't asked for an explanation. 

Bobby questioned her about it once and she had thought about telling him about her perfectionist tendencies. How scared she was about losing herself again to the feeling of acceptance. But the words would not come to her at the time and instead, she laughed it off.

Just as she is about to do to Julie and Luke.

Looking at the other girl she jokes, “As much as they could use my help, I'm not much of a performer."

"That's not true,” Reggie says, "I’ve seen you perform before.”

She smiles at him fondly, thinking of all the times she had driven out to dodgy clubs at obscure hours of the night or he stayed awake through never-ending piano concerts.

"That's different," she replies. "I can play a piece in front of a crowd but I can't do what you guys do. Plus I can't sing.”

Before Reggie can put in a rebuttal, she squeezes his hand and lightly shakes her head. His eyebrows pull together but he lets it go and she turns back to Luke.

"Let me know if you ever want to add in a violin part though.”

Luke looks at her warily but manages a light laugh. "Never gonna happen.”

The three band members slowly go back to practicing when Alex finally shows up. 

"Where have you been man? We need to start practicing!" Luke says. 

"Yeah? For what?" Alex asks just as Flynn walks into the studio.

"Dance news! I don't have a date. But I don't care because I'm so psyched to see you guys perform."

"Oh, man! We're playing a dance?" Alex says looking bummed. 

"Of course, dude. That's how we get a following nowadays." Luke says, looking to Julie for reassurance.

"Yeah get with the program, Alex." 

"What? The guys are here?" Flynn says and waves to the empty space to her right. "Hi, guys!"

After Julie tells Flynn where Alex and Reggie are standing, Luke says, "Ok, well, now that Alex has graced us with his presence, can we start working?" Luke asks.

"Yes!" Julie says and looks at Flynn. "We're gonna rehearse. You wanna stick around?"

"I'm supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better."

"Do you need help?" Angela asks before remembering Flynn can't hear her and turning to Julie. "Does she need help?"

Julie rolls her eyes at her before turning to Flynn. "Angela wants to talk to you."

"Oh!" Flynn says before fishing a notepad out of her bag and putting it down on Julie's keyboard. 

Angela and Flynn had figured writing was the best method of communication after Julie had decided she was done being the translator. It was a little depressing how difficult just writing with a pen had been at first but Angela was anything if not determined. 

Angela writes out her question and Flynn enthusiastically agrees.

"Hey, Julie!" 

And in comes Carlos brandishing a container of salt, claiming it can burn ghosts souls out. He throws some around where the guys are and Alex panics as he gets hit.

"No! Oh god, I'm...I'm fine."

"Really?" Angela looks at the drummer incredulously who shrugs defensively in response. 

Julie gestures for Flynn to get Carlos out of the studio and the two of them leave.

"Shall we try this again?" Julie asks.

Luke looks enthused and goes to grab his guitar. "Yes, please. But remind us later. There's some Sunset Curve songs that we want to show you."

"Ooh! Show me now."

Luke gets out his notebook and Julie starts looking through it. She stops a page and looks up at Luke. 

"Who's Emily?"

Angela and Reggie freeze and look at each other with wide eyes as Julie proceeds to tease Luke. 

"Wow, Luke, I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"He's not. That one's actually about-" Alex starts to explain before Luke interrupts.

"No one. That's just something I tried and...But if you go to the next dog-eared page, I got a tune that's just got a killer beat." Lukes says, proceeding to play a riff from one of their old songs. 

"So you want to sample?" Julie asks.

The four of them look at her confused and Angela feels the slow creep of dread move up her body. Luke asks what she means. 

Julie explains, "Sample someone else's music. Me and my mom used to sing that song at the top of our lungs in the car all the time. It's a classic Trevor Wilson song."

_No._

"Nope! It's a classic our song." Luke says.

"Pure Sunset Curve. Never even heard of Trevor Wilson." Reggie says.

"Maybe you're mixing it up with another song," Alex suggests. 

"I don't mix up songs. Trust me. Me and his daughter used to be best friends. I used to hang out at their place all the time. I know that song," Julie says, taking out her laptop. "Here I'll prove it."

Julie types something out before turning the laptop towards the guys. The realization hits Angela as they look closely at the photo on the screen.

"That's Bobby."

_He didn't._

"Seriously, I just told you his name is Trevor," Julie says.

"Ok great. Then he changed it, all right? That's definitely Bobby. He was our rhythm guitarist." Alex explains as the same realization hits them. 

_He did._

The sad part was that Angela wasn't even surprised. Bobby had been a casual liar and always tried to have the upper hand in any situation.

Where Luke expressed the purest parts of her passion for music, Bobby reflected the darker sides. 

The fact that he would even think to take credit for Luke's songs was a little shocking but she knew exactly why he had done it. Angela and Bobby had both played music to protect themselves from their fears. She had been terrified of being alone. He had been afraid of disappearing. 

Somehow they ended up living each other's nightmares. 

Still, as she watches Luke angrily throw darts at the wall, she understands the betrayal the guys are feeling. Bobby knew that Luke put his heart and soul into his music and it didn't matter if he was dead, it wasn't his to take credit for. 

She takes a few breaths to resituate herself and by the time she is done the guys are gone. 

Julie looks at her. "I think I just unleashed three angry ghosts on the world."

"It's not your fault," Angela reassures her before sighing and standing up." I'm going after them. I'll be back."

**************

  
She pops in front of the mansion and starts to feel overwhelmed at the thought of seeing Bobby in person again after everything. Then she thinks of the guys. There are two things she knows about them:

1\. The three of them feed off each other's emotions, both good and bad.

2\. They act before they think.

Those are a dangerous combination in this situation and she needs to focus. No thoughts about Bobby. The only thing that matters is finding them. 

She makes her way into the mansion and ignores the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach. As she looks around the interior she is a little caught off guard by the ostentatious decor. Moving around the sleek modern furnishing she notices the records on the wall. Recognizing many of the song titles she shakes her head and turns back to her task.

_Where the hell are they?_

She stops dead in her tracks when she sees two figures on the couch. Remembering they can't see her, she walks closer. The teenage boy is unfamiliar but the girl, blonde hair and sharp smile, Angela recognizes but cannot figure out from where. A picture of a girl in a full pink ensemble at Julie's school comes to mind. She recalls Julie mentioning something about being friends with Bobby- Trevor's daughter. 

Then she hears a panicked voice yelling about going to therapy.

_There they are._

She walks outside to see the guys mooning a retreating helicopter and her jaw clenches.

"You guys have your fun?"

"It's a start," Luke responds as he pulls up his pants.

"You know he loved you guys right?"

"If he had he wouldn't have stolen my songs!"

She flinches slightly and squeezes her eyes shut. Then she looks back at Luke, his expression teeming with rage, and tries a different approach. 

"Look, what he did wasn't ok. You're allowed to be hurt but this isn't going to fix anything. You can make his life hell but it's not going to remove the hurt. Not really."

"So what we just forgive him?" Luke asks angrily. 

"No! No, of course not. I just," she starts before sighing. "I know what it's like to want to get rid of your feeling by putting them onto other people. And I know how easily that can ruin everything good in your life. You guys were given a second chance. _Julie_ gave you guys a second chance. I just don't want you to ruin that."

She looks at the three of them and knows they aren't listening to her. Not really. She knows them well enough to see that getting revenge is the only thing that matter to them at this moment. 

"Fine," Angela says passive-aggressively, letting her anger seep back in. "Do whatever you want. Just promise me you'll be there tonight."

She ignores Reggie's concerned look as she stares at Luke knowing that if he puts a stop to this the other two will let it go.

Luke stares back defiantly and says, "We'll be there."

Upset but not surprised, Angela looks to the ground and shakes her head. She looks at them for a brief moment, eyes wet with unshed tears, before teleporting away. 


End file.
